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Shaye J.D. Cohen
CB 23
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Bible to Judaism and Christianity
Lecture 9: Circumcision and Covenant
Circumcision = circum + cidere (from caedere, to cut, cut down)

Circumcision we are talking about is not the routine neonatal circumcision practiced in USA
which became common, starting in the late 19th century, for alleged health benefits

We are speaking here of a ritual act, not a health measure

To see a circumcision on YouTube, go to brit milah or bris milah; for a detailed
description see the Cohen reading.
Circumcision is unique among all the commandments of the Torah:

The only ritual commandment given to one of the patriarchs in the book of
Genesis (c. 17)

performed once in a lifetime

on the body

called berit, “covenant.” Only one other commandment is called a berit.
o The notion of “covenant” binding God to his people is unique to ancient
Israel [as we shall discuss in a few weeks],

The uniqueness of circumcision perhaps explains its powerful hold on the
Jewish psyche through the generations, even among modern Jews who are
otherwise not law observant; in modern times there have been several
movements within Judaism to do away with circumcision but none has (yet)
succeeded.
What does biblical-Jewish circumcision mean? Allow for multiplicity of meanings.
Numerous cultures perform circumcision of one kind or another, and as a result
anthropologists, historians, etc. have attributed wide range of meanings to this ritual;
see Cohen reading
Genesis 17:

God promises fecundity and land, demands circumcision in return

Association of circumcision with fertility and /or marriage is common in many
cultures (cf. Genesis 34); but Israelite circumcision is not puberty ritual but an
infant ritual endowed with covenantal value.

Celebration of paternity: proper maternity is essential (hence Isaac is in, Ishmael
is out), but circumcision trumps birth, paternity trumps maternity

Circumcision is also a sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:11); in context this means a
sign for God to see (cf. Genesis 9:12-17), but Jews and Christians [like Justin; see
Shaye J.D. Cohen
CB 23
readings for next lecture]
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Bible to Judaism and Christianity
understood this to mean a sign of difference vis-à-vis other
people.
Other implicit meanings:

Tribal mark (Genesis 34)

A purification sacrifice (Leviticus 12)

Apotropaic sacrifice, protection against danger (Exodus 4:24-26 and 12:43-50)
o The story in Exodus 4 is one of the most cryptic in the entire Torah: 24At a
night encampment on the way, the LORD encountered him [Moses] and sought to kill
him. 25 So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched his legs with
it, saying, “You are truly a bridegroom of blood to me!” 26And when He let him alone,
she added, “A bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision.”
Metaphor spun out of physical circumcision is circumcision of the heart; foreskin of the
heart, lips, or ears blocks obedience to God’s will; either God (Deuteronomy 30:6) or the
Israelites themselves (Deuteronomy 10:16) are to circumcise the Israelite’s heart.

Deuteronomy 10:16: Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.

Deuteronomy 30:6: The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your
descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Rabbinic Judaism (second century CE) develops distinction between circumcision that
is covenantal (berit) and circumcision that is not covenantal (berit). See Cohen reading.
Circumcision as marker of conversion to Judaism. – an innovation of the last centuries
BCE first century CE.
Perhaps in response to Christians, or other “free-thinking” Jews, rabbis magnify the
importance of circumcision well beyond what is found in Genesis 17; see Mishnah and
Talmud Nedarim.
What is the Mishnah? The first rabbinic book, produced in Hebrew in the land of Israel, ca. 200 CE, a large
and wide ranging anthology of statements and discussions on law, practice, ritual, custom, etc., topically
arranged. The Mishnah should not be confused with midrash; the Mishnah in literary form is not
scriptural commentary but legal anthology. The Talmud is a massive commentary on the Mishnah, extant
in two forms: one produced in the land of Israel in the fourth century CE, and one produced in Babylonia
(Iraq) in the seventh century CE approx.
Mishnah Nedarim chapter 3 (Soncino Talmud translation, modified)
R. Ishmael said: great is [the precept] of circumcision, since thirteen covenants
were made over it.1
R. Yosi said: circumcision is a great precept, for it overrides [the severity of] the
Sabbath…
The word berit, “covenant,” appears thirteen times in Genesis 17, the chapter in which God commands
Abraham to be circumcised. Hence the conclusion that circumcision has the value of thirteen covenants.
1
Shaye J.D. Cohen
CB 23
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Bible to Judaism and Christianity
Rabbi said: great is circumcision, for [notwithstanding] all the precepts which
Abraham fulfilled he was not designated perfect until he circumcised himself, as
it is written, walk before me, and be perfect (Genesis 17:1).
Another explanation: great is circumcision, since but for it, the Holy One, Blessed
Be He, would not have created the universe, as it is written, but for my covenant by
day and night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth (Jeremiah
33:25).2
Talmud (Bavli Nedarim 32a).
It was taught: Rabbi said: Great is circumcision, for none so ardently busied
himself with [God's] precepts as our Father Abraham, yet he was called perfect
only in virtue of circumcision, as it is written, Walk before me and be perfect
(Genesis 17:1), and it is written, And I will make my covenant between me and thee
(Genesis 17:2).3
Another version [of Rabbi's teaching] is this: Great is circumcision, for it
counterbalances all the [other] precepts of the Torah, as it is written, For in
accordance with these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel (Exodus
34:27).4
Another version is: Great is circumcision, since but for it heaven and earth would
not endure, as it is written, [Thus says the Lord,] But for my covenant by day and
night, I would not have appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth (Jeremiah 33:25).
The word “covenant” in the verse triggers a midrashic association with “circumcision”; both are called
by the Hebrew word berit.
2
Genesis 17:2 shows that Abraham’s perfection (Genesis 17:1) is a function of the covenant, that is,
circumcision.
3
4
This verse suggests that the covenant (berit, circumcision) equals all these words, the words of the Torah.